. >> ben bernanke. >> ben bernanke is taking matters into his own hands to try to right the economy. so it's only boehner and his right wing republican conference which i don't understand the tactic at all. >> okay. mike, the white house said today the republicans haven't budged on the key issue, which is raising rates for the top 2%. >> right. >> so boehner may say ifs and buts are candy and nuts but where do they find themselves if we go over the cliff knowing that the president argued in the election over this central issue? >> reporter: two things. first of all, you know, i think regardless of what the polls say, this is a question of who looks the worst, not who looks the best. i think both sides in the end if we go over the cliff, if there is this economic catastrophe and i agree with bill, if we go over the cliff, they can come back and pass something retroactively. nothing is certainty point. i don't think anybody really wins in this scenario at all. so i think with regard to -- the one thing you have to keep in mind, you know, the average member of congress is not thinking s